


Pretty Face

by roseymama



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-18
Updated: 2015-10-18
Packaged: 2018-04-27 00:05:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5025910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseymama/pseuds/roseymama
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Welcoming someone new to the family. Visiting a baby she hadn’t dared to dream of. Welcome back to District 12, Mrs. Everdeen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pretty Face

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Prompts in Panem Round 8 Day 7. All mistakes mine, the characters are Suzanne Collins'.

Mrs. Everdeen marveled at every new thing she met in District 12. Peeta had gathered her and her things from the train station, and walked her back to her daughter’s home in the Victor’s Village.

She had lived in this place, once upon a time. It housed a lot of bittersweet memories. The Everdeens were enormously wealthy and they wanted for nothing. Well, nothing but safety, security, and a good night’s sleep. It was such a tense and stressful time, but in light of the year that followed it, the time in this house had been peaceful. There were lovely days here.

Now the house was a little out of sorts. It was obvious that it was being taken care of, but there was no life here. It was a cross between a museum and a hotel. Some areas looked like a shrine to the life Katniss and her family lived for a little less than 365 days. Yet some of the rooms were frequently used to entertain visitors, and the kitchen had a new layout with open shelving so anyone could fix themselves a meal without feeling completely lost.

Mrs. Everdeen was both surprised and saddened that her previous bedroom was largely untouched. _Katniss has a shrine for me too, here_ , she thought. Even though though the women had long ago taken measures to mend their relationship. Confronted with physical proof of how keenly Katniss had felt the absence of her mother’s presence, Mrs. Everdeen resolved anew to make peace with her ghosts. Katniss was capable, and thriving, in the wreckage of their former lives. She should at least make more of an effort to visit her beloved child who she had failed to mother.

With a heavy, guilty heart Mrs. Everdeen followed Peeta out of her former home towards his house. No, _their_ house. The Mellark family home. Kicking herself again for missing the toasting, and the more formal wedding party, Mrs. Everdeen took a bracing breath to prepare for what she might be walking into.

The decision to visit Katniss and Peeta was not lightly or quickly made. But once the plans were set in motion, it was surprisingly easy for everything to fall into place. She arranged to take time from work, booked her train tickets, and started packing. The plan was to arrive about a week before the baby was due. If the child came early, then so be it, but both Katniss and Mrs. Everdeen held hopes that they could help each other through the labor.

Alas, these sorts of things could not be perfectly timed. The baby arrived the day before Mrs. Everdeen’s train departed. During her phone call, Katniss tried to sound disappointed for her mother’s sake, but Mrs. Everdeen could hear the dreamy bliss in her daughter’s voice. The labor had been remarkably smooth. Katniss had such spent so much of her pregnancy worried and uncomfortable that she had a hard time determining if she was in actual pain or imaging things. She completely missed the early signs of labor until the pain became too intense to ignore, and by then the baby was well on her way. A perfect baby girl. A granddaughter.

The smell of new life in their home was arresting. The moment Mrs. Everdeen walked through the door she stopped to breathe in that elusive new baby scent that hung in the air. Peeta beckoned for her to follow him upstairs.

“Katniss was asleep when I left to get you, but she told me earlier she wanted to see you as soon as possible.” He spoke softly as he climbed the stairs.

Mrs. Everdeen smiled. “Oh Peeta. It won’t be the first time if I end up just watching her sleep for a little while. I’m sure you’ve already discovered the joy of watching your daughter sleep. That feeling doesn’t go away even if your little girl is grown with a girl of her own.”

Katniss wasn’t sleeping when they tiptoed into the room. Her head snapped up when the door opened. Mrs. Everdeen suddenly felt shy as she looked at the woman Katniss had become. Even though she moved a bit slowly, Katniss rose out of bed and hugged her mother with a ferocity that confirmed the earnest nature of her request for a visit.

Mrs. Everdeen took a moment to regard her beautiful child. She looked so incredibly hearty and well, and she looked so much like her father. Her entire body had a roundness to it, though. Something that would have been difficult even during their best years in the Seam. Katniss’ full cheeks spoke of the sort of healthy pregnancy that had once been so rare in Panem.

The baby started to stir in that quiet, grunting way newborns have. Katniss gave her mother a blindingly radiant smile and said, “Would you like to come meet her?”

As she walked to the bassinet, Mrs. Everdeen felt a weight settle in her chest. She felt a visceral devotion to this child. This perfect, innocent babe was worth the fight. All the heartache in Panem could not overshadow the light of this life. And Mrs. Everdeen realized she also had a duty to this little girl. As the only living grandparent, she was going to need to take special care to love this child enough for four people.

The baby was a sweet thing. Completely round and rosy with wisps of dark hair. Mrs. Everdeen leant over the bassinet and placed her hands on the girl’s cheeks, squeezing them slightly. It was an old and rarely used gesture in the district, occasionally used for babies and young children. It meant good luck, it meant wishes for health, it meant hello to someone you love.

“Shayna punim, sweet one,” Mrs. Everdeen whispered over the baby.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Shayna punim is an American Yiddish phrase meaning “pretty face”. I fondly use it in honor of my husband’s Jewish “auntie” and her effusive affection for our daughter. Pinched cheeks and all.


End file.
